New Bedford may make pitch for Amazon's HQ2

Friday

NEW BEDFORD — The city will likely join the fray to become the home of Seattle-based Amazon’s second headquarters, dubbed HQ2.

Amazon and its chief executive Jeff Bezos have gone public with a request for proposals, spelling out just what Amazon is looking for in a new home.

Ward 3 City Councilor Hugh Dunn, attending a strategic planning workshop in Toronto, said Friday that he thinks New Bedford’s municipal golf course — 100 acres of which have been designated for business development — and the city itself meet all of the requirements being set down by Amazon.

That being the case, New Bedford could find itself amid a fierce competition that has already begun nationwide. Amazon’s new second headquarters will employ as many as 50,000 people, making an average of $100,000 a year. The application deadline is Oct. 19.

Mayor Jon Mitchell said he reached out to the state’s economic development chief Jay Ash last week to say the city is “strongly considering” responding to Amazon's request for proposals.

“The way we see it is there really isn’t a downside. We believe we have a very competitive site in light of the criteria set forth in Amazon requests for proposal.”

“If nothing else, going through the exercise will elevate the profile of that site and may spark the interest of other large employers.”

In May, Mitchell announced an agreement between the city and MassDevelopment to convert a 100-acre section of the golf course into a business park that could create at least 1,000 jobs.

As it happens, Ash visited the golf course in June and pronounced the development of a section of it “a no brainer.” He said at the time he could think of only two other sites in the state that have as much job-growth potential, are within a city and are near highways, rail and an airport: A former Naval airbase in Weymouth and vacant space across from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

That favorable impression might have played a role with Ash on Thursday when he told the Boston Globe that New Bedford would be a strong option for Amazon. He was unavailable for comment Friday.

Dunn ran down the list of Amazon’s requirements. One hundred acres of greenfield property. The population must be at least one million; the city lies in the Rhode Island economic statistical area, with 1.6 million people.

There are 12 colleges, and easy access to 32 more in Greater Boston.

There is interstate highway access, though a new highway exit would be needed just for Amazon. The city is near enough to an international airport, T.F. Green in Warwick, Rhode Island and about 55 miles to a second, Logan in Boston.

He also pointed to the area’s quality of life and relatively low costs, given that the average house in Greater Boston is now about $400,000.

Dunn said he doesn’t think the lack of commuter rail is a show stopper since there is SRTA bus transportation, and he observed that Ash doesn’t seem to see a problem. Amazon might even spur the state to complete the South Coast Rail project, at least to Middleboro.

“This would completely change the trajectory of this region,” Dunn said.

“Every economic development official is going crazy.”

Mitchell told The Standard-Times, “We believe New Bedford can compete on a big stage but we also believe even if we don’t get it, the exercise will have been worth it.”

Mitchell said he believes the highway access allows the city to handle Amazon’s projections of 50,000 workers.

As far as interference with the airport, Mitchell said, “We don’t see that as being a barrier.”

And as for timing, breaking ground in 2019, “We don’t see an issue with time.”

Dunn said, “As we go forward I hope we aren’t afraid of success.” New Bedford’s success, would be Fall River’s and that of Providence as well, Dunn said. “Everybody benefits across political boundaries.”

Follow Steve Urbon on Twitter @SteveUrbonSCT.

Reporter Michael Bonner contributed to this report.

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